This invention relates generally to composite molding processes and more specifically to methods and apparatus for forming a skin coating on an article made by a vacuum forming process.
A new resin molding process (referred to as RIDFT Resin Infusion between Double Flexible Tooling) was recently developed by Dr. Okoli of Florida State University. The Okoli method comprises placing fiber reinforcement between two sheets of silicon film which are then pressed against the reinforcement under vacuum to effectively form a silicon bag around the reinforcement. A vacuum is applied to the bag in order to infuse a resin through and around the reinforcement. The resin filled silicon bag is placed in a vacuum chamber which has a mold and a vacuum is drawn to conform the bag around the mold. This method has the advantage of preventing contact of the sticky resin with the surface of the mold. However, traditional methods of preparing a coating over the part, such as applying the coating to the mold surface prior to laying up the reinforcement and resin, cannot be used with the new process.